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Green Energy Cronyism Leads to the White House

Green energy failures under President Barack Obama’s Department of Energy are nothing new. However, it is becoming apparent that the cronyism behind these loans could lead all the way to the White House.

The most infamous of green energy failures was, of course, Solyndra. It was discovered that George Kaiser, the man who secured $535 million in government loan guarantees for Solyndra also gave money to Obama and causes close to administration officials. As you may know, Michelle Obama used to work at the University of Chicago Medical Center, as did several of Obama’s advisors. Kaiser donated to the First Lady’s pet project at that organization, the Urban Health Initiative.

Next, let’s take a look at BrightSource Energy, a power-tower solar thermal system company in Nevada. Not only did Harry Reid receive campaign donations from BrighSource executives, the CEO John Woolard also held a fundraiser for him in 2010. Woolard also donated to the Obama Campaign and has visited the White House numerous times since Obama took office. Other Obama donors include Sanjay Wagle, an executive with one of BrightSource’s major stakeholders. Wagle was also an advisor at the DOE at the time the loan was approved, which should have raised eyebrows. BrightSource Chairman John Bryson became Obama’s Secretary of Commerce. It certainly causes one to suspect cronyism in their $737 million loan.

Obama’s latest green failure was Abound Solar, and it turns out that he is also intimately connected to that company. President Obama went on television after news broke of Abound Solar’s bankruptcy to say that politics had nothing to do with their loan guarantee. However, new e-mails have come to light which seem to prove that this is not the case.

Energy Department loan executive Jonathan Silver states in one e-mail to credit adviser Jim McCrea that “You better (let) him know the (White House) wants to move Abound forward,” and references the “transaction pressure under which we are all now operating.” Furthermore, he stated that there was some discomfort as to Abound’s risk and their readiness to enter the marketplace.

I love how you focus on only the cronyism in the Obama administration, as if it didn't exist in the Republican Party. Because it does. Both parties are equally as corrupt. I was hoping when I joined this site that it would actually be about freedom in America, and getting back to our traditional values, but it's turning out to be just a bunch of partisan bullcrap. I wish there was a forum for people like me who don't trust EITHER party, who know that it's all a bunch of lies to keep their people in power, who get it that every election is just picking the lesser of two evils.

Democracy and Power 105: The Politician seeks power
To some people, government appears as a vast reservoir of power which inspires them to dream of what use might be made of it. They have favorite projects of various dimensions which they sincerely believe are for the benefit of mankind. They are thus disposed to recognize government—an instrument of passion, the art of politics to inflame and direct desire.
- Michael Oakeshott – English political philosopher 1901-1990

Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli addressed the assembly at FreePAC Kentucky 2014. Cuccinelli is helping FreedomWorks and Senator Rand Paul sue the federal government to protect the privacy of all Americans against the massive NSA domestic spying program.

Personal Freedom and Power 106: Funding Government
Senator Mike Lee: “The best thing we can do in Congress is to withhold funds, for Congress to exercise its power of the purse.”
Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) is a scholar of our Constitution as well as an advocate for freedom. Over the years, the Obama Administration has unilaterally issued hundreds of rules impacting all aspects of our governing laws – environment, immigration, welfare, war, ObamaCare and the list goes on. Senator Lee knows that Congress has the power of the purse and Congress should withhold funds when the President makes unilateral changes, modifies or ignores existing laws. Recently Lee said, “The best thing we can do in Congress is to withhold funds, for Congress to exercise its power of the purse.”

Washington, DC- President Obama finally released his Fiscal Year 2015 budget, reported to increase spending by 63 percent and add $8.3 trillion to the debt over the next 10 years. The increased spending will be paid for by $1.8 trillion in new taxes, on top of the $1.7 trillion in new taxes since Obama has entered the Oval Office.

President Obama continues to lose the youth’s support-and fast. Just a few months ago, Harvard released a poll showing that 57% of Millennials disapproved of ObamaCare. That same poll showed that 54% of Americans from ages 18-29 disapproved of Obama, while only 41% approved. These statistics aren’t all that surprising, as Obama has made things extremely hard for the average millennial in his first 5 years. Student loan debt, job availability, ObamaCare and the overall national debt have crippled America’s youth.

Democracy and Power 101: Government is PowerThe essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.—James Madison, Speech in the Virginia State Convention of 1829-1830

Democracy and Power 105: The Politician Seeks PowerIn order to get power and retain it, it is necessary to love power; but love of power is not connected with goodness but with qualities that are the opposite of goodness, such as pride, cunning, and cruelty. —Leo Tolstoy

Fracking is one of those issues that gets people really riled up, and almost always, the most prominent and vocal detractors have no idea what they’re talking about. Those who study the issue and follow the science tend to support fracking. Recently, we have been given another reason to do so: the very water which fracktivists claim is harmed by fracking.